maxim

plural maxims

1. archaicA self-evident axiom or premise; a pithy expression of a general principle or rule.
2. A precept; a succinct statement or observation of a rule of conduct or moral teaching.

   Those maxims lurch through my head like rivers of lava. Those smarmy, know-it-all maxims. Trivia disguised as deeply held wisdom.

   2024 May 6, Lt Flops, “Pursuing Ghosts, Part II”, in SCP Foundation, archived from the original on 02 Jun 2024

   2 more examples

   In every age and country of the world men must have attended to the characters, designs, and actions of one another, and many reputable rules and maxims for the conduct of human life, must have been laid down and approved of by common consent.

   1776, Wealth of Nations, archived from the original on 26 Jun 2008, page 768

   It was impossible to imagine anything more cold or comfortless, while it was a task of no small dexterity to thread your way through the labyrinth of trunks, bandboxes, &c.; for it had of late years become a maxim with Lady Anne that nothing ought to be thrown or given away:...

   1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter V, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 42

   Synonyms: Synonym: aphorism

plural maxims

1. Alternative letter-case form of Maxim.

   Again we went on, and climbed the false immensity of another ridge, when several rifles and a maxim opened upon us, and very close they were.

   1928, Edmund Blunden, Undertones of War, Penguin, published 2010, page 104

plural Maxims · alternative Maxam · alternative Maxim gun · alternative maxim gun · alternative maxim

1. A male given name from Latin.
2. A surname from French or from Dutch [in turn transferred from the given name, in turn from Latin].

plural Maxims · alternative Maxam · alternative Maxim gun · alternative maxim gun · alternative maxim

1. engineeringSynonym of Maxim gun.

   Synonyms: Maxim gun